Remembering Tough As Nails Julian “Mr. KO” Letterlough

By Joshua “City” Brewer

I have always been one to take interest in the stories and plights of the average person. With that frame of mind, I firmly believe we all have our own unique stories and though the audience may sometimes be limited, there is someone out there who has knowledge and understands. This applies to boxing as well. There are some who become superstars. Many boxers become stars in their own right. There are those who are more known than others as well as those who may have had a smaller following. Media and fans alike have different boxers that made an impact on their love for the sport over the years. These boxers were at all levels. For me, one of those boxers was Julian “Mr. KO” Letterlough, who ended his career with a final record of 21-5-3, 20 KO’s.

I’ve made it no mystery that a lot of the boxing I watched coming up was by virtue of ESPN. Whether it was a Tuesday, Wednesday, and more commonly, Friday. There seemed to always be interesting fighters who’ve gotten their first major views via the ESPN fight platform, Letterlough being one of those individuals. Letterlough provided the type of uncertainty in his fights that essentially left me on the edge of my seat. Recalling from memory alone, I don’t remember his style being very polished, but he made up for that with heart and was never gun shy as we put it in boxing. He was essentially an ESPN version of “Iron” Mike Tyson at light heavyweight for me during his run. Of course, Tyson was on a completely different level, but this was my view of him visually and fight-wise at that point. Guts and glory.

In a sense, he fit the mold of many throwback fighters. He was the type who’d head to fight looking for bar if you’re catching my drift. A challenge was merely his duty. Due to serving time in prison, Letterlough started boxing at the late (by boxing terms) age of 28. He had no time to waste and got off to an exciting, rocket fueled start. He earned his nickname due to the fact that he always put on exciting fights that typically featured him getting a knockout. I recall being disappointed when he suffered his first loss. Not at the fighter himself, but at the fact that someone was able to essentially tame the beast well before I envisioned.

Unfortunately, Letterlough died tragically in a senseless shooting. It was essentially a fast-life style death for a fighter who entered the ring with an adrenaline rush. When it came to boxing he didn’t care about losing and seemed willing to trade at any point, regardless of the fighter in front of him. I ask that you check out a few of Letterlough’s fights. If you can’t decide, start with his fight against Julio Cesar Gonzalez. You won’t be disappointed. Letterlough’s story is one of redemption and tragedy, but his impact on the sport of boxing was without a doubt appreciated. Though he’s no longer here his fights shall live on forever.

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